Post Title – Regina Walker, Avid Horsewoman and Author
Merry Christmas, dear readers! I’m excited my final Friday Friends interview falls on Christmas Day! Hoping that you all have a blessed and peaceful day wherever you are. This year, like many of you, our family is foregoing our holiday get-together. While this is the first time since 2006 when I returned home from the United Arab Emirates we haven’t gotten together, we have drop-off plans in place. We may get together on Zoom video chat. Here is believing each day has its special moments and 2021 will be full of pleasant delights for each of us!
It is a great pleasure to introduce you to Regina Walker, my Friday Friends guest this month. I met her in my Inspirational Reads and Authors Facebook group – a terrific group of authors. Many of the writers focus on the entanglements and resolutions of romance, completing a new full-length book in a series every three to six months. Regina stood out because of her serious subject matter – suicide. She seemed to fit into the group well in spite of that. As a memoir writer, I struggled to find my place among a network of novelists, even though they treated me kindly. This genre was so different from mine. I gravitated toward Regina. It was almost as if she were a hybrid author and this, along with her faith-based blogging, encouraged me.
I love Regina’s writing, so was thrilled when she agreed to be a guest in my Friday Friend column. This is our interview:
What interests and hobbies do you pursue?
Outside of writing and homeschooling our kids, I am an avid horsewoman. I love to hit the trails on my horse and unwind.
What type of work do you do?
I am supposed to be a stay-at-home mom, but I’m an equine massage therapist and an author.
Can you tell us about your book, when it was released and what motivated you to write it?
My novel, We Go On, was released June 12, 2020. It is my debut novel. It follows the struggle of a family that lost their son to suicide. I wanted to share hope with the survivors of suicide. I wanted them to know they could continue the legacy of the ones they loved and lost too soon. I wanted them to know that God sees them and sees their pain and that He reconciles that pain.
How do you approach a new book? What is your writing process?
Total Pantser/Discovery writer here. I approach a new book with a blank page and I just let the story tell me what it needs to. I pray a lot over my stories, too.
What has been the most challenging part of your book journey?
Not letting doubt steal my voice or silence my stories.
How have your other jobs in life contributed to your writing life?
Different jobs have given me perspective I wouldn’t have had, and crossed my path with people that have encouraged and inspired me.
What is the one thing you miss during lockdown?
Getting together with friends. Cookouts. Church. I’ve been a homebody with the exception of a couple trail rides.
What do you feel the proudest of achieving?
Actually, putting my first book out there to share with the world. That was very hard to do and feels very vulnerable.
How do you stay positive in the world today?
Prayer and having some really incredible friends with the absolute best perspectives!
What are your writing goals by the end of 2020?
To release my next novel, Still With Us, and to work through my plan for 2021.
What message would you like to leave with my readers?
Jesus loves YOU and He died on the cross for YOU. Focus on Him in the good times and the bad, and remember to let Him define the purpose of your life.
Where can my readers find out more information?
I can be found at ReginaWalkerAuthor.com
Blurb for Still With Us
Worthless. That’s how Ella feels every time she wakes up. But when meth jolts through her veins, the ugly voice that tells her she isn’t enough goes quiet. She thinks she has the energy she wants and she struggles to break free from the draw the drugs have on her.
Torn between blaming herself and her ex-husband, Tammy desperately wants to find a way to get her daughter away from drugs and the abusive men preying on her. But nothing Tammy says seems to make a difference with Ella. Will she be able to reach her daughter before it’s too late?
Warning: This book deals with drugs and abuse and may be triggering to some readers.
BIO
Regina Walker crafts compelling characters facing some of life’s hardest challenges. Her heart’s desire is to always point toward Jesus through the way her characters face challenges, relationships, and adversity.
Regina is an Oklahoma import, although she was born and raised in the beautiful state of Colorado. She likes to curl up on the couch and binge-watch crime shows with her hard-working husband. When she’s not wrestling with a writing project, she can be found wrangling their children, riding their horses, or working around their small hobby farm.
Links to Regina’s books:
Still With USThat draws December’s interview to a close. It’s a wrap! Thank you so much for agreeing to be my guest this month!
What else would you like to know about Regina? Please share your questions in the Comments below!
You have just read “Friday Friends: Spotlight on Regina Walker: Avid Horsewoman and Author” by Amy L. Bovaird and Regina Walker. © December 25, 2020. All rights reserved.
Love this… Love Regina and her heart. Great interview. Thank you.
Hi Anne,
Thank you so much for reading this post and commenting. Yes, I couldn’t wait!
A lovely Friday Friends post to end the year on. Merry Christmas and happiest of new years!
Amy
Thank you so much Amy and Regina. Like Regina I’m a newbie at this writing thing-yet to publish anything. But God does the directing as I struggle to ignore those voices telling me not to bother. There is a message of hope that must go out.
Hi Julie,
Absolutely! Don’t listen to those voices! We have the qualities to deliver the message of hope. This Christmas I received a bookmark that says “She thought she could, so she did.” We ARE enough. We all are! Thank you so much for taking time to read this post and cull some relatable points out of it.
Amy xx
Thank you Amy! I loved this behind the scenes look into your life.
Hi Shirley,
Yes, it was interesting to get a peek into Regina’s life for me too!
I wondered what kind of symptoms a horse owner would have to see before calling a equine massage therapist. And, of course, I love that she is an avid horsewoman and that takes a central focus in her books!
Thank you for taking time to read my post and leave a comment.
Amy